By Ethan Hall
This Spring/Summer 2026 collection, named 'Jewel,' was Wales Bonner’s tenth anniversary. Jewel picked up off where the Met Gala Superfine left off, which Bonner had sat as a committee member and dressed several looks for. The show was hosted in the library of the historic school, Lycée Henri-IV, and was accompanied by a symphony played by the Dutch harpist, Ranie Ribeiro.
The show was imagined as the wardrobe of an esoteric collector’s wardrobe full of 'timeworn and treasured pieces.' The wardrobe develops from the concept of Superfine style and draws its vitality and grandeur from the 1930s era. Traditional British sartorial conventions were a specific inspiration to this collection.
A classic cornerstone of British sartorial tradition in Savile Row, and in this spirit Wales Bonner had a collaboration with Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard. In this spirit the collaboration produced an irregular Crombie jacket with irregular button placements and a deep blue collar.
In a slightly different vein, the collection is infused with a collaboration with Y-3, which produces a truly unique amalgamation of Wales Bonner, Adidas Originals and Yohji Yamamoto. The collaboration revived the Y-3 field shoe in leather in two gorgeous brown colourways paired with: bronze and blue. Leather was also utilized for crisp white and brown bowling bags. Y-3 revisited archival silhouettes inspired by Japanese style souvenir jackets and tuxedo trousers.
The collection stretches across formalities. More sport-style elements are incorporated with preppy polos, which are composed of soft, knife-edged knit fabrics. Softer looks are seen with almost sheer henley tops that hang tightly around the body. These loose, delicate informal looks sharply contrast with the rigid formal tailoring in the collection. These formal looks are truly reminiscent of British sartorial tradition including looks made up of winged tip shirts and tail coats.
Jewel is a unique combination of the institution of early 20th century dress and Bonner’s fiercely deliberate influence from modern culture. Wales Bonner’s 'cultural luxury that infuses European heritage with an Afro Atlantic spirit' is strongly felt in this collection and is a bold pickup from where the Met Gala left off and a perfect point to spearhead the ten year anniversary.